About the Echo

The Echo | Location

St. Louis Park Senior High School, 6425 West 33rd Street, St. Louis Park, MN, 55426

Media publication policies:

The Echo is a designated public forum for student expression in which students make all decisions of content without prior review from school officials or the public. Content will not be reviewed by school officials prior to publication or distribution. The adviser will not act as a censor, but will educate students on journalism ethics and advise students. Students have the final decision on all content. Through this ability, we allow all voices in our school and our community to be heard.

We believe students learn more when they make publication choices themselves. Review or restraint on publication does not allow students to create high-quality journalism. To best teach students to take responsibility is to give them decision-making power. The Echo and its staff are both protected and bound by the First Amendment, as well as any additional protections and limitations from the Constitution and other laws. To learn more about the protections in place, refer to the Student Press Law Center.

Ethical guidelines:
The Echo will work to avoid bias and/or favoritism. We will strive to make our coverage and content meaningful and interesting to all our readers. In order to strive for objectivity, our staff should avoid covering stories in which they are involved as well as any potential conflict of interest. The Echo will not shy away from covering newsworthy, controversial issues that are important to students. Our staff should thoroughly cover these topics. Any omission of essential information will not occur, as that destroys not only truth but credibility and reliability. We will make every effort to avoid printing libel, obscenities, innuendo or invasions of privacy.

The use of AI:

The Echo recognizes the rising use of AI, as well as the importance of ethical AI usage. All stories by staff must be original works, written and revised by those in the publication. The same goes for images. AI is valuable asset for a journalism publication, as it can assist with lengthy transcripts, compile data and recognize grammatical errors. That being said, it is important to recognize the ethics involved in using AI. The Echo is aware that journalism is rooted in human experience and connection, something AI cannot replace. It would be wrong for us to not use a tool that allows us to be more efficient and thorough in our work, but we find it important to do so in an assistive manner. 

AI may be used to:

• Brainstorm ideas on a topic
• Develop interview questions on a complex topic
• Transcribe interviews
• Organize information or analyze data gathered by our own staff
• Make grammatical checks
• AI-related features within programs (Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator)

AI will not be used to:

• Make institutional decisions
• Source information on a topic
• Create false interviews
• Generate fake images for a story or page
• Write any part of a story, including titles, subheads and captions

Procedures:
The editorial board will consist of the Echo editors, led by the directors. The editorial board will ensure its voice represents the student body through writing effective staff editorials and features. Additionally, the editorial board should discuss coverage concerns and should be mindful of creating an inclusive environment for all staff members. Staff editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board arrived at by discussion and will not be bylined. Bylined articles are the opinion of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or administration as a whole.

The Echo will avoid electronic manipulation that alters the truth of a photograph unless clearly labeled as a photo illustration. When we can, we will use photos taken by our own staff. Any photo or image not taken by Staff will have correct attributions to the media owner, such as fair use and creative commons. Any and all stories will not be taken down off of the website regardless of request, as it would be censorship. If there is a problem with a published story, please refer below.

The Echo welcomes reader input. Letters must be signed and should be no longer than 250 words and may be e-mailed to [email protected] or submitted in room B231. E-mailed letters must be verified prior to publication. We will not necessarily publish all letters received and reserve the right to ask the writer to edit for length and clarity. The Echo reserves the right to withhold a letter if we believe there are notable errors that could result in a misinterpretation. Anonymous letters wherein the publication name does not know the identity of the writer will not be printed. 

While we strive for accuracy, we know errors can occur. In the event of an error being reported by readers or noticed by staffers, The Echo should first check to see if the information is erroneous. If the material is deemed incorrect, they should alter any online content to reflect the correction and then print a correction in the next edition. Students should be careful not to restate the error, but to correct the erroneous information. In regard to material appearing on the websites, nothing will be taken down unless it’s proven factually false or otherwise legally deficient as of the time it was published.

In the event of the death of a student or staff member at St. Louis Park High School, a standard, obituary-type recognition will commemorate the deceased in the newspaper and online news site. A school-portrait type photo is preferable. A maximum one-fourth page feature, or similar length for each obituary, should be written by a student media staff member and placed on the website within 24 hours and in the newspaper at the bottom of page one. Web and print coverage should include school and community reaction as it happens. 

Advertisements will be sought from local businesses, school clubs, and sports. Ads will be viewed by students, their families, the St Louis Park community as a whole, and will support student journalism. We maintain the right to reject any ads we believe to be false, misleading, inappropriate or harmful. The publications do not necessarily endorse the products or services offered in these advertisements.